The sweetness of returning to small-town life for a Kansas couple is turning out to be quite a scoop for Eudora.
Stacie and Mark Blubaugh plan to open a family ice cream shop in the newly remodeled building at 714 Main St.
Main Street Scoops and Sweets is a business that all of the Blubaugh family has a hand in helping create.
Stacie grew up in Clyde, Kansas, and noticed a small ice cream dipping shop during a visit this summer. The visit inspired her with the idea for Main Street Scoops and Sweets.
However, scoops are only half of the business. Her daughter Brooke operates her own online bakery business called Brooke’s Bakery. The bakery is currently an online-only service, but the new Main Street space will provide Brooke a space to showcase her baked goods for customers to see.
The Blubaughs lived in Olathe for about 20 years, but both Mark and Stacie are originally from smaller towns and decided Eudora is a good fit.
“We wanted to get back to the acreage and out of the city,” Stacie said. “We like the community Eudora offers. It feels like home.”
The new ice cream shop and bakery is expected to open around the holidays.
A downtown destination
New business opportunities like Main Street Scoops and Sweets are what Weld Properties owner GW Weld is looking for to make downtown a destination spot.
“I want people from Lawrence to decide to come to downtown Eudora to get some ice cream and then shop at Twill Trade for some clothes or furniture at Eudorable Home,” he said.
The rehabilitation of the 714 Main St. building is nearing completion despite supply challenges.
Weld said last year the rehabilitation would be projected for a September 2022 completion. Now, the building is scheduled to be finished in October.
Windows for the building were ordered in January but only recently delivered to be installed.
“That set us back quite a bit,” Weld said. “It was a COVID issue, really. These are custom windows, and custom materials got really hard to get for awhile.”
When the property is completed, Weld hopes new businesses will flock to the available space and bring new life to Main Street.
Eudorable Home will also expand as a result of the 714 Main St. property’s completion. Owner Courtney Gebauer came to Weld with the idea to expand her business into the neighboring building to give room for her vendors’ items.
Gebauer believes this expansion makes the most sense as it will give the main Eudorable building more room to breathe as she looks to incorporate eight new vendors. The new vendors will introduce new products to the business, such as handmade furniture, floral decor and custom T-shirts, Gebauer said.
“I’m hoping by us adding these eight little retail shops it will bring more of a draw to downtown,” she said.
Beyond downtown
Downtown is only one part of Weld’s mission to serve Eudora. In July, Weld Properties acquired the old United Methodist Church at 706 Church St. The church building fell victim to a fire in May that left much of the already damaged property in cosmetic critical condition.
“Buildings like 714 Main St. and the old Methodist Church have so much historical and intrinsic value to the community that they really deserve to be used,” Weld said. “With the church in particular, people have been married, baptized, had funerals here. This community has major points in their lives that have happened in this building.”
While Weld said he is still finding the best outcome for the building, he wishes to see the space used as a community center.
Weld is captured by the building’s architectural beauty. Wanting to rekindle that beauty once more is a main goal for his rehabilitation process.
“At night when people drive by, we can turn the lights on in here and you can see the stained glass shine. That hasn’t been experienced in a long, long time,” Weld said.
A scheduled time for Weld and his crew to begin work on the old church is still undetermined. Weld nominated the building to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places in hopes to gain tax credit funding.
The cost of the project is predicted to be over $1 million, Weld said.
Despite the economic challenge, Weld continues to champion the mentality to preserve these spaces due to their significance.
“There is always a case to be made for new construction, and I’m not opposed to that. I also think there are certain buildings that become such a part of the historical fabric of a community that, if they can be repurposed, it should always be the aim above starting over,” Weld said.
Weld Properties is also working to repurpose century-old buildings not just in Eudora. The city manager in Atchison approached Weld to work on a 100-year-old building. Work on the 14,000- square-foot space will be yet another task for Weld to help bring new life into otherwise lifeless buildings.
Reach reporter William Crow at [email protected].
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